14 DAY TRIAL // Yesterday, Google made Google Glass available for anyone in the United States to buy and, unsurprisingly, it ran out of devices.
The $1,500 wearable gadget was out of stock before anyone knew what happened, but the company won’t reveal exactly how many devices were sold.
Google did admit to having sold out the white version early on, while red, blue, gray and black options were still available later on in the afternoon.
“Wow, what a morning! We’re happy to see so many new faces (and frames) in the Explorer Program. Just a quick update that – ack – we've sold out of Cotton (white), so things are moving really fast,” Google said about an hour after the sales started.
“Welcome to our new Explorers! All spots in the Explorer Program have been claimed for now, but if you missed it this time, don’t worry. We’ll be trying new ways to expand the Explorer program in the future. You can sign up below to stay updated. That's all for now, folks,” Google announced as it shut the door to all the other people who would have liked a shot at being a Glass owner.
Unfortunately, the rather high price deterred a lot of people from entering the Explorer program, especially since expectations are that Glass will be significantly less expensive when it becomes available to everyone later this year.
The device was only available for purchase online, and it seems that Google has been trying to test the waters and see just how much interest there is for the device among regular users. Up until now, the only people who could get the device where developers or people who got the device through various Google contests.
Of course, this tactic isn’t exactly a surprise since Glass is not the first product that Google tries to awaken interest in by limiting its reach. Gmail, after all, was only available by invite in the beginning and if you wanted an account, you had to beg your friends that were luckier than you.
Technically, Google Glass is still in beta, so the company can use all the feedback it can get. Before opening up the online orders, Google made a few big announcements regarding the device.
Firstly, the device’s operating system was upgraded to KitKat, which is expected to improve battery life and make future software updates easier to install. There is also a bunch of tweaks regarding Glass. The device will also lose the voice call feature for a while, since it was subpar to the company’s expectations.